American Exceptionalism

American Exceptionalism
1630The colonists must work to make New England a model for future settlements. Puritan lawyer John Winthrop states that the new land is to “be as a city upon a hill,” and, “the eyes of all people are upon us” 1776-89

Thomas Paine describes America as a beacon of liberty for the world stating, “Freedom hath been hunted around the globe.” He goes on to say that America is not like any other, and the world does not know how to regard her. Declaration of independence

Revolution
Constitution
1840French intellectual Alexis de Tocqueville writes that the "position of the Americans" is "quite exceptional, and it may be believed that no democratic people will ever be placed in a similar one." 1898

Mark Twain writes, "There is but a single specialty with us, only one thing that can be called by the wide name 'American.' That is the national devotion to ice-water. ... I suppose we do stand alone in having a drink that nobody likes but ourselves." 1914

President Wilson expands on Paine’s notion, and states that it is America’s duty to spread liberty abroad, "For that is the only distinction that America has." 1929-1930Stalin condemns America’s exceptionalism. The USA communist part says this about American exceptionalism after the great depression: “The storm of the economic crisis in the United States blew down the house of cards of American exceptionalism.” 1950

Agroup of American historians including, Daniel Boorstin, Louis Hartz, Richard Hofstadter and David Potter, state that our ideals have indeed allowed us to sidestep fascism and socialism, but they are not sure if this can be reproduced elsewhere. Boorstin states, "Nothing could be more un-American than to urge other countries to imitate America." 1961

President John F. Kennedy goes back to Wintrop’s “City upon a hill” and states, "More than any other people on Earth, we bear burdens and accept risks unprecedented in their size and their duration, not for ourselves alone but for all who wish to be free." He believes that America’s distinctiveness stems from its determination to exemplify and defend freedom all over the world. 1975

American exceptionalism took a major blow during this time of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal. Socialist Daniel Bell writes, “the belief in American exceptionalism has vanished with the end of empire, the weakening of power, the loss of faith in the nation's future." 1980

reagan reasserts faith in america: “"I've always believed that this blessed land was set apart in a special way," 1989
with the end of the cold war, there is a belief that the America model could become the norm, not the exception 1996in response to NATO’s intervention in Bosnia, President Bill Clinton declares, "America remains the indispensable nation" and that "there are times when America, and only America, can make a difference between war and peace, between freedom and repression." 2000

exceptionalism becomes very political when George W. Bush speech writer says that there are two competing visions of internationalism in the 21st century: the "'global multilateralism' of the Clinton-Gore Democrats" vs. the " 'American exceptionalism' of the Reagan-Bush Republicans." 2007-2008

while running for office, Barack Obama states, "I believe in American exceptionalism, but not one based on "our military prowess or our economic dominance." 2009
President Barack Obama became the first president to use the phrase “American exceptionalism” publicly (Friedman, Uri)

American exceptionalism refers to the United States being a uniquely free nation based on democratic ideals and personal liberty (Daniel). American exceptionalism is also the belief that the United States is unique, or exceptional, when compared with the historical development of other countries (Friedman, Thomas). The revolution and the freeing of ourselves from Great Britain are very important to the ideas of American...

...﻿Explain Manifest Destiny and AmericanExceptionalism.
When I think of a way to explain Manifest Destiny and Exceptionalism, the movie Avatar (2009) comes to mind. In Avatar, the American government, scientists, soldiers, and astronauts invaded a foreign land prepared to take what they wanted through treaty or force. This mentality, “I am destined by God to have this land from east to west, take this land, expand this land, and conquer the land surrounding it” if challenged, Americans countered with brutal force.
Americans reasoned through newly introduced sciences and theories, such as Social Darwinism, “Though man has certain indisputable, God given human and municipal rights, our God condones our actions through our sacred text, which trumps yours because your level of understanding is not as our own nor does your God/Religion/beliefs compare. Therefore, you are so far beneath us that you may work to build our empire as slave (or employees to our country/conglomerate), and we will do you a favor by granting the gift of assimilation; building Military bases, schools to teach our religion, culture, history, and language, and roads.”
At the turn of the 20th century, how did U.S. foreign policy apply these ideas?
The imperialistic desires of America prompted the pursuit of Military, Economic, and subtle world domination. In efforts to maintain control and protection of their “island...

...What it means to be an American?
This question what is an American cannot be answered by one word. There are so many different characteristics, qualities, and features that can be used to describe an American. Besides features, someone is only a real American if they take advantage of all of the many privileges that are given to them. Any person that is not grateful for the privileges that are given to them to me are not real Americans but this is only my opinion. Real Americans use their privileges to benefit themselves and everyone around them. In today’s society there are certain things that are expected from American citizens, for instance being a successful person.
Being responsible is a very important part of being an American. There are many rights that you are given when living in America, and with these rights you are expected to be responsible and not abuse them. One right that you shouldn’t abuse is your right to vote. This is something that many of us take for granted. Having to make this choice you are expected to make the responsible decision. The only person that it would hurt if you don’t take this type of thing seriously is yourself. Along with this privilege of voting on whom you want to run our country, you are then expected to take the responsibility to fight in war if ever needed. This is...

...The term "AmericanExceptionalism" refers to the historical perception of the United States as an inherently idiosyncratic nation, because of its unique origins, national principles, historical evolution, distinguishing political and religious institutions. It is an ethnocentric idea that places the United States and the American people at a special place in the world by offering opportunity and hope for humanity and uniquely balancing public and private interests governed by constitutional ideals that are focused on personal and economic freedom. It is also seen as the presence of traits unique to the United States, such as the tradition of individualism, the failure of socialist parties, and high levels of religiosity. Some interpret the term to indicate a moral superiority of Americans, while others use it to refer to the American concept of itself as an exceptional ideal, which is not necessarily upheld by the people and government of the nation. Others claim "Americanexceptionalism" is common ethnocentrism and merely propaganda that justifies a chauvinistically America-centered view of the world. Americanexceptionalism also refers to some case of American uniqueness without implying that an innate superiority of Americans resulted in the development of that uniqueness.
While uniqueness does not imply superiority,...

...101 Characteristics of Americans/American Culture
To help you compare and contrast what you observe of American culture and your own, mark the similarities and differences between your culture and what you have read about in this book. 1. America is enormous: the third largest country in the world with a population of more than 300 million people. 2. Americans come in all colors, have all types of religions, and speak many languages from all over the world. 3. Americans are extremely independent, individualistic, and like to be different from each other. 4. 66% of Americans are overweight; 37% of those are obese. 5. Americans believe in freedom of choice. 6. Americans need a lot of “elbow room”; they like personal space around them. 7. Approximately 1% of Americans are homeless (3.5 million people). 8. Americans talk easily to the homeless but use good judgment and are careful with whom they talk. 9. Sadly, the streets of major cities are often dirty. 10. Many people, especially teenagers, wear strange clothes, and many have tattoos and body piercings. 11. Americans follow the rule of law.
1
12. Littering (throwing garbage on the street), grafﬁti and tagging (writing on the walls), and loitering (standing around and doing nothing) are against the law and are punishable by a ﬁne or jail. 13. Discriminating against...

...2012
American Imperialism: A Platform for the Conflict Paradigm
Imperialism in today’s society, where it is seen in almost every society in one way or another, is used as leverage to gain social status. The countries that implement imperialism in their diplomatic relations use the method for the same common goal: to gain wealth, power, and status. Sociologically, what is it that pins country against country? It is all propelled by the Conflict Paradigm, which “argues that the structured system of all of society is based on conflict over the goods of society (wealth, power, and status)” (Dunn, 9). In America, we still today see the Conflict Paradigm in action because American imperialism is still one of our diplomatic policies.
America’s conquest for westward expansion originated at the time of the founding of The Massachusetts Bay Colony, in which John Winthrop deemed, “the city upon the hill.” The belief that “The American Way” is the right way, gained support among Americans because it fostered American ideals, such as the spread of democracy as well as the strengthening of the nation’s economy. The American Way came to foster Americanexceptionalism, Americans’ nationalistic support for the spread of the United States’ economy as well as its political ideals. This concept of American superiority created a surge of...

...greater conflict does this discrepancy represent?
* ‘Our people are basically decent and caring, and our highest ideals are expressed in the Declaration of Independence, which says all of us have an equal right to “life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”’
* The America that we “know is a country that had slavery and still has racism, had a president who was seen as a hero who loved war and
4. Describe Ronald Takaki calls the “Master Narrative” of American history. What two assumptions does this version of American history rely upon, and what problems does this pose for the study of America’s history and contemporary understandings of who/what is American?
* Master narrative: the “power and popular but inaccurate story” declaring that “our country was settled by European immigrants, and Americans are white.”
* A filter through which we learn history
* Leaves out all the other cultures that live in America
5. How does James Hoopes define oral history vs. oral tradition? Does American dominant culture have a strong oral tradition? Why/why not?
* Oral history: documents collected by tape recorder. Used by social scientists in “participant observation” studies
* Oral tradition: Usual name for verbal stories passed on from one generation to the next
6. What are the strengths/advantages of oral history as a methodology? What are the limitation/weaknesses of...